The seriously sporty and comfy club. Shop athletic leisure shoes and sneakers – join the club today ✓ Free shipping & returns for members.
Source: ECCO Athletic Leisure Club | ECCO® – Official Online Store
Marketing is no longer one thing. A group of men with cigars aren’t meeting in a room trying to leverage soap operas to sell to women in the household. The “Mad Men” era gave way to the sports era. The sports era has dominated marketing and continues to do so because it is the only realm of television revolving around “live” real time viewership. The person watching can’t fast forward sporting and live events. For footwear brands who are dealing with the shift in footwear to athletic and leisure activities, having a part in the sports activities, or entertainment aspects of consumer’s daily lives is critical, but getting into those spaces when you aren’t organically there is difficult.
Earlier this year I wrote that ECCO could be the breakout brand of the year. That hasn’t quite happened. It’s not because there aren’t designs by the company that aren’t fresh, stylish and on trend. The slow trend up is due to the obvious issues around Covid, but that doesn’t mean I was wrong. ECCO has invested heavily in itself and the brand recognizes that the key to becoming more of a player in the athleisure space rests with having a smarter presence in the U.S.
Insider Ties: Episode 201 | ecco®︎ Should Be The Footwear Company of 2021
“ECCO has opened four outlet shops this spring across the US in Dolphin Mall, Miami; Opry Mills, Tennessee; Denver, Colorado; and Mebane, North Carolina.” These store openings will serve as an introduction and branding for the company, but an outlet store requires common knowledge of the brand. At this moment, ECCO is a brand known by a particular segment. Women are the primary buyers, hence in the picture below handbags and and merchandising is geared towards them.
The information above, may help my argument that ECCO should be the breakout brand this year, but this doesn’t answer the question, “Have you heard of the ECCO Athletic Leisure Club?” Probably not. I only recently discovered the strategy via social media. As I said earlier, sports and live events are the realm for the most efficient marketing. In today’s arena, social media is the driving force for advertising. With so much noise in that space, however, a brand looking to improve sales with men’s and enter what is basically a youth culture segment in athleisure and fashion, is going to have a difficult time being seen.
All brands carry the burden of firing at the demographic they are pursuing with imagery and copy that will capture the attention and speak to that market. That is the purpose of marketing campaigns. ECCO has launched their Athletic Leisure Club with imagery that is a contrast to their own store openings in the U.S. and in contrast to what they are internationally.
The pictures throughout this post are streetwear influenced. ECCO doesn’t exist there. ECCO doesn’t exist in sport or fashion/youth culture. Yet the photography here is speaking to a consumer who has yet to be properly introduced to the brand. The entire concept is correct in its goal, but the landing page and a few cool pictures won’t convert. Take a moment to search “ECCO Shoes” on YouTube. There aren’t unboxings. There aren’t fashion shows. There aren’t style conscious people doing pairings with streetwear. ECCO is running out of time to become the breakout brand of the year. Do you think the ECCO Athletic Leisure Club will help? I’d like to hear your comments.